Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA
Students have a weekly online reading assignment (hosted by SurveyMonkey.com), where they answer questions based on reading their textbook, material covered in previous lectures, opinion questions, and/or asking (anonymous) questions or making (anonymous) comments. Full credit is given for completing the online reading assignment before next week's lecture, regardless if whether their answers are correct/incorrect. Selected results/questions/comments are addressed by the instructor at the start of the following lecture.
The following questions were asked on reading textbook chapters and previewing presentations on runaway planets (Venus and Mars), jovian planets (Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune), and the dwarf planets (and the International Astronomy Union classification scheme).
Selected/edited responses are given below.
Describe something you found interesting from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally interesting for you.
"Majority of our greenhouse gases in our atmosphere is released by volcanoes and absorbed by oceans."
"I found the terrestrial planets interesting--the fact that venus and Earth are so alike but so different. Our size is almost the same, but yet the runaway greenhouse effect on Venus is crazy. It is interesting to me because it is a place that I can view from Earth as an evening star. Its amazing that we know so much about Venus, and yet there is still a lot to discover."
"Why Pluto is not a planet. I knew it got kicked out of the planet club, but I only knew one reason why it wasn't considered. I liked reading about both sides of this issue."
"I like how there seems to be volcanos on every planet."
"It was interesting that Jupiter's clouds look more active than Saturn's because Jupiter is more massive, so it has more convection currents. The coffee and cream analogy really helped with this concept."
"I liked the IAU classification scheme, and telling whether something was a planet, a moon, satellite, etc. It totally made sense. It was interesting because I always wondered why Pluto wasn't a planet anymore."
Describe something you found confusing from the assigned textbook reading or presentation preview, and explain why this was personally confusing for you.
"I think the idea of having an atmosphere is completely bizarre. I understand that it's necessary, but how does it form and how does it stay?"
"What makes a atmosphere more or less dense--for instance, the textbook said that Venus has a lot of carbon dioxide, but if there were oceans would this make the atmosphere less dense as the oceans absorb the carbon dioxide? Does gravity have anything to do with the denseness of the atmosphere?"
"I don't understand why Pluto and the other dwarf planets are in fact 'dwarf' planets. The criterion they don't meet is dominating their orbit, so why does their size play a role in identifying them?"
Which jovian planet has the coolest interior temperatures?
Jupiter (most massive). * [1] Saturn (most prominent rings). [0] Uranus (least active weather patterns). ******** [8] Neptune (farthest from the sun). ************ [12] (Unsure/guessing/lost/help!) [0]
I believe Pluto should be a planet.
Strongly disagree. * [1] Disagree. ******* [7] Neutral. ****** [6] Agree. **** [4] Strongly Agree. *** [3]
Briefly explain your answer to the previous question (whether Pluto should be a planet).
"When I was growing up I was taught that Pluto was a planet, it was kinda lame to hear that they unclaimed it a planet, I don't see why it took them so long to decide that. I still feel that it should be a planet."
"No, because according to the book Pluto is not large enough to dominate and gravitationally clear its orbital region of most or all other objects."
"I really don't mind whether or not Pluto is a planet."
"Why not? Mercury is a planet."
"I honestly have no opinion on Pluto. I don't know enough about astronomy to have that opinion."
Ask the instructor an anonymous question, or make a comment. Selected questions/comments may be discussed in class.
"Do we ever get to see our homework scores?" (Yes, they're listed on the same pages as the quiz scores (as "R1 = Reading assignment 1," etc.).)
"I don't know if it is just me but I feel the quiz questions are way harder than what is being taught in class."
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